The next morning, I left Dillon asleep in the bed that we now shared in his bedroom. I needed to talk to his mother, and it was hard to find a minute alone with her. When she was awake, Dillon wanted to spend all his time with me. We would sit on the veranda and look out over Lila's rose garden. Other times, he would convince me to go with him to the park for a run, or we would just hang out on campus at PCU. Either way, whenever he wasn't at work, we were together. Dillon and the baby had quickly become my life, and even though I knew had once loved Georgie, I believed him when he said he had never felt this way before.

Just as I went to shut the door, Dillon rolled over and mumbled something incoherent in his sleep. I smiled as he snuggled beneath the covers, his dark blonde hair barely visible beneath the thick duvet. Crossing the room soundlessly, I kissed the top of his head tenderly, rubbed my stomach and whispered, "I love you both." When he didn't respond, I was sure that I hadn't woken him so I padded down the stairs.

As I passed the window, I could see that the sun wasn't even up yet. Tracey was usually the first to rise in the house, spending time alone to read the newspaper and enjoy a cup of coffee before the madness that is the family set in. Dillon told me that in the summer she likes to walk through the garden and talk to her mother in her head. Though she would never admit it, I think it is during that time that she is most human. The vulnerability of such a ritual shows the part of Tracey Quartermaine that keeps me hanging on, even when she is driving me crazy.

"Good morning" I greeted her as I settled in at the dining room table across from her.

She smiled at me over the edge of her favorite mug. Folding the local section of the newspaper in half, she leaned over the surface intently. "Hello, Lulu. Why are you up so early?"

"I wanted to ask you something," I replied.

Lulu agonized on the decision.

"Yes, Lulu, you have my blessing," she said simply.

"You don't even know what I was going to ask."

"You want to marry my son."

"How did you know that?"

"The look in your eyes said everything. He looks at you the same way, you know," she explained. "He wants to be with you, too, Lulu. If you want to marry Dillon, I want you to know that you have my blessing."

"Dillon always says that you and I are a lot alike. That used to make me so angry. I didn't think that I'd ever want to be like you. And then you told me about your abortion, and I realized that I was wrong. You've been so great to me through all this. I know that it's because Dillon is your son and you love him, but I just want you to know that I appreciate it."

"I'm not just doing this for Dillon, Lulu," she told me. "Like I've told you before, I know that I'm not your mother, and I wouldn't even try to take her place. But I hope that I do have a place in your life and that you will let me help. This is my grandchild, Dillon is my son and you are my stepdaughter."

"This child is going to be so confused," I giggled, realizing for the first time how insane our family tree will be.

That was my idea…Lulu had nothing to do with it.

"Don't let what others think affect you. The only ones that matter here are you and Dillon."

I shook my head firmly. "No, we're not. Our families matter, too. My dad, you, my brothers, all the Quartermaines…you are this baby's family. You are Dillon's family. You are my family."

"I'm very glad to hear that. I truly hope that you and Dillon will be happy together. I want you to have the love that I never did, the fairytale romance that was your father's marriage to your mother. If you have half of that, I think you two will be the luckiest people in the world."

"I'm going to ask him to marry me," I announced with a note of finality. Tracey smiled at me widely and came around the table to hug me.

"Wait, what's going on here?" Dillon asked skeptically as he came into the dining room.

As we pulled apart, Tracey and I exchanged secretive smiles. "Nothing, Son, just a little pregnancy talk."

"We were just talking about my mom," I explained, glad that it wasn't a total lie.

"I missed you when I woke up," he told me, dropping a kiss on my forehead.

She can't possibly understand what you've been through.

"Mmm, good morning," I said, leaning over to pull him into a kiss.

"You need to go get ready for our appointment," he reminded me. I nodded and stood up. "Tracey, thanks again."

She smiled. "You're welcome."

"Okay, stop, you're freaking me out," Dillon murmured, looking between us.

I kissed him on the cheek and started for the stairs. Suddenly, an idea popped into my head. "Tracey, do you have a really busy day?"

She was quiet for a moment as she flipped through her PDA. "No, just a meeting late this afternoon. My morning is actually pretty clear. Why?"

"Would you like to go with Dillon and me? I'd like it if one of our mother's could be there for the first ultrasound."

"I'd be honored," she retorted proudly, a small tear gleaming in her eye.

Dillon grinned at me. "You're amazing," he whispered as he kissed me intensely.

"Want me to show you just how amazing I am?" I teased softly, biting his lower lip.

He raised his eyebrow. "My mom is right there, and you have to be at the hospital in a half-hour. We don't have enough time."

I grabbed his wrist and glanced down at his watch. "If I remember right, we have plenty of time."

"Ouch," he winced in mock pain.

"I'm kidding, you're amazing. And I love you."

"I love you, too. Now, let's get ready to go. I can't wait to see our baby."

But some of us do.